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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
21 Thunder, Industry News

CBC commissions soccer drama 21 Thunder starring Stephanie Bennett

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From a media release:

CBC has commissioned 21 THUNDER, a new original eight episode, one-hour drama series from PMA Productions and Generic Productions. Set in Montreal, the series takes viewers into the fiercely competitive and high-stakes world of an under-21 soccer academy, following the players and coaches who risk it all for a shot at the pros. Production started in late August in Montreal and will continue until November 15, with the series set to premiere in summer 2017 on CBC.

In the cutthroat world of pro soccer, a club lives and dies by the stars on its under-21 team. They are the future and lifeblood of any franchise, but most will never make it. 21 THUNDER is the story of the Montreal Thunder U21 team, following the team’s star players on and off the field. A story of love, crime, race, sex and athletic glory, at its core the series is about how a group of players and coaches unite as family in the whirlwind of life, one step away from the pros.

Helping to coach the team are Christy Cook (Stephanie Bennett, The Romeo Section, Descendants), an Olympic soccer hero forced on the team for PR reasons; and Davey Gunn (former Scottish footballer Ryan Pierce, who played as Ryan O’Leary), an international soccer superstar who is on the run from both the paparazzi and his past. The team consists of striker and former gang-member Nolan Gallard (RJ Fetherstonhaugh, Wayward Pines); Ivory Coast midfielder Junior Lolo (Emmanuel Kabongo, Hemlock Grove), a brilliant new arrival; and team captain, goalie and academic prodigy Alex el Haddadi (Andres Joseph, The Flash). Together they strive under notorious coach Albert Rocas (Conrad Pla, 19-2) to win games for the club, and a future for themselves.

Commissioned by CBC, 21 THUNDER is produced by PMA Productions and Generic Productions, and executive produced by Kenneth Hirsch (Extraordinary Canadians, Outbreak: Anatomy of a Plague), Michael Levine (Republic of Doyle), Adrian Wills (The Surrogacy Trap, All Together Now), Riley Adams (Crossing the Rubicon: The Journey, Flashpoint) and Malcolm MacRury (Republic of Doyle, Saving Hope), who also serves as showrunner. Riley Adams is co-creator along with Kenneth Hirsch and Adrian Wills.

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Aftermath, Featured

Heche and Tupper save the world in Space’s Aftermath

I’m a massive Stephen King fan; two of my favourite works are The Stand and The Mist. In the former, the world is brought down by a plague and the Americans that survive make their way across the nation to Boulder, Colo., recreating society out of a country with no power and no law. In The Mist, a cataclysmic thunderstorm tears a hole into another dimension, unleashing awful beasts that claim our planet as their own.

There’s plenty of both scenarios going on in Space and Syfy’s new series, Aftermath, and that’s just fine with me. Created and run by William Laurin and Glenn Davis (The Pinkertons, Missing), the 13-parter debuts Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on Space, with Joshua (James Tupper) and Karen Copeland (Anne Heche) trying to keep their family safe from an approaching hurricane. A hurricane on its own isn’t a big deal, except the Copelands live in Washington state, nowhere near warm water where those storms spin. Battery-powered radios crackle alternately of the end times and science and … horrors … cell service is nonexistent. If no texting wasn’t bad enough, some folks have gone nuts and are skinning each other alive.

aftermath

It’s with this as the backdrop that Tuesday’s debut, “RVL 6768,” sets up one hell of a ride. (Keep an eye out for the episode title to show up in one memorable scene.) With so much going on in the first 10 minutes, I worried I’d be overwhelmed with information. Sci-fi series can do that as the world, the characters and parameters are set up, but that wasn’t the case with Aftermath. I credit that to Tupper and Heche’s characters who are islands of calm as the world goes to shit. Josh is a university professor who studies world cultures and beliefs, so he picks up on the significance of fish and snakes dropping out of the sky. Karen is a former Air Force pilot whose no-nonsense attitude and survival training will keep her family—son Matt (Levi Meaden) and twin sisters Briana (Taylor Hickson) and Dana (Julia Sarah Stone)—safe.

Her skills are called upon early and often as increasingly violent and odd folks begin popping up. Incredible CGI and effects turn merely scary situations into horrifying ones and one such scene causes the Copelands to leave their home in the rearview mirror and explore what America has become. And what it’s become is a terrifying place.

Aftermath airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

Images courtesy of Bell Media. 

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Featured, Murdoch Mysteries, Wynonna Earp

Photo gallery: First look at Season 10 of Murdoch Mysteries

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The wait is over, Murdoch Mysteries fans! Season 10 is upon us, and we couldn’t be happier, especially after getting a peek at six images from the first episode!

As previously announced, Downton Abbey‘s Samantha Bond guest-stars in “Great Balls of Fire, Part 1,” but what we don’t know was that Wynonna Earp‘s Dominique Provost-Chalkley would be appearing as well. Here’s an episode description for Episode 1001:

In the wake of Ogden’s (Hélène Joy) near-death experience at the hands of a deranged former patient, Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) is trying to create some normalcy in their shared life by moving ahead with plans to build a house. Ogden appears to be recovered but her physical well-being hides trauma to her spirit and psyche. The doctor masks it well as the couple spends a night on the town at the Grand Hotel for an elegant debutante ball. Ogden’s friend, Lady Suzanne Atherly (Samantha Bond), has recently arrived from London and is using the event to introduce her daughter Elizabeth (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) to Toronto society and the very eligible bachelor Rodney Strong (Kyle Cameron). As Ogden entertains her guest, Murdoch is assailed by George Crabtree’s (Jonny Harris) commentary on the young women vying for the affections of the wealthy suitor.

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Season 10 of Murdoch Mysteries debuts Monday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. on CBC.

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Featured, Four in the Morning

The episode of Four in the Morning where they blow up the moon

We begin this episode of Four in the Morning, appropriately entitled Moon, with Jamie (Michelle Mylett) waxing poetic about how fabulous the moon looks whilst William (Mazin Elsadig) is completely indifferent. It makes him feel insignificant. William  hasn’t been reacting to anything at all lately and that is pissing Jamie off. They head into an empty Patrician Grill as the lone patron, Coralie (Shiva Negar), rushes out. She slim jims a car and William and Jamie tag along for a trip to the observatory. It seems a group has gathered to watch the destruction of the moon.

Meanwhile, Bondurant (Daniel Maslany) just cannot catch a break with his trumpet playing. This time, he is called away by William in order to save the moon. Seems our musician Bondurant is also a world-class mechanical engineer. He also suffers from heavy fingers. It is only once a year, when the moon is at perigee, that its gravitational pull balances the heaviness of his fingers, making his trumpet playing c’est magnifique.

But these are just the surface stories. Mitzi (Lola Tash) discovers Bondurant lied about getting into Julliard, and she confesses that she had an abortion … but did she? Jamie and William fight about his lack of emotional engagement and William almost confesses about his time with Mitzi. In the end, William finally reacts, putting Jamie and William back on track and  Bondurant terminates the moon for Mitzi! Yep … Parker had Bondurant blow up the moon! Guess we are significant after all.

As I sat down to watch this episode, I was thinking “OK, here we go again, we have a pattern established … yawn.” But, about halfway through “Moon,” I didn’t have a clue where we were going. Then there was a fabulous bullet time sequence edited with “Che gelida manina,” from La Boheme scoring the scene. This was absolutely perfect for Maslany’s physical theatrical style. Sure it was gimmicky, but it was perfect and I loved it. I also realised I am starting to care about these characters, albeit some more than others.

Let me know what your thoughts are about tonight’s episode in the comments below.

Four in the Morning airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Lost Girl, Vikings

Canadian Kris Holden-Ried joins Season 5 of History’s Vikings

HISTORY® announced today that Ontario native Kris Holden-Ried has been cast as Eyvind (AY-vind) in season 5 of the award-winning series Vikings. Season 5 is currently in production in Ireland and Canada and will air in Canada on HISTORY in 2017.

Holden-Ried will appear throughout the season as the character Eyvind, an important warrior in Kattegat who decides to travel and settle his family in a new land.

Hailed for his starring role in Showcase’s award-winning original series Lost Girl, Holden-Ried most recently moved behind the camera with his directorial debut, The Epitaph, and is developing a TV series based on an internationally-acclaimed trilogy. Holden-Ried was a champion competitor in riding and fencing. He is a former member of the Canadian National Pentathlon Team and has a silver medal from both the Pan American and Pan Pacific Pentathlon Championships. He is represented by Amanda Rosenthal Talent Agency and Luber Roklin Entertainment.

Season 4 of Vikings returns with all-new episodes Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT beginning November 30 on HISTORY.

Fans can catch up on past seasons of Vikings on HISTORY.ca, HISTORY on Demand, HISTORY Go app, shomi, and iTunes.

Vikings is an international Canadian/Irish co-production by Take 5 Productions and World 2000. HISTORY broadcasts both domestically in Canada and the U.S. MGM Television brings Vikings to the global audience, serving as the worldwide distributor outside of Ireland and Canada. Vikings is produced in association with Corus Entertainment.

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